Sonic Forces: The Memories
by Thewritterforall
Summary: Eggman has escaped null space and is back with another plot, but when a secrete escapes his grasp, it's up to the Sonic team to set it right and help reunite two lost companions. (Slight AU since the comics that explained Infinite's rise were crap and needed fixing, so did the game but that's another story. Gadget is OC since he isn't on the roster. Rookinite/Infidget.)
1. The beginning

**Chapter 1**

**-Gadget POV, Sunset Heights Park Avenue**

'Finally' I thought as the sun rose over the ruins of Park Avenue, 'the war is over and we can rebuild. Or so everyone else can.' I was standing on the balcony outside of the 'Resistance' base, cold autumn air brushing my red fur to and fro as leaves tumbled in the sky. It was relaxing, staying out here and away from everyone else inside. I glanced at the landscape to see Mobians returning to rebuild their lives after...he...destroyed their homes. 'And now I'm about to look for the mad man himself. Infinite...' I looked to a bulge on my middle finger under my combat glove with a small tear in my eye.

"You heading off to?" A male voice said behind me causing me to jump a little. I turned to see the blue blur, Sonic, at the door to the base walking over to me. I gave a small nod to him, making sure my glasses didn't fall any when I did. "I was thinking the same thing." He said facing the sunrise and putting his hands on his hips. I didn't comment about it, not that I needed to before he turned to face me. "You stay out of trouble you hear?" I nod earning a smirk. His white gloves hand extended into a fist and I met him half way. "I'll see you around partner." A sad smile made it's way onto my face and he dashed off, waving bye as he went down a hilled cobblestone road.

I however turned back to the distance and rubbed my right hand over my grapple launcher. 'Well I guess better do this now instead of later.' My feet carried me to the edge where I jumped from the balcony, launched my hook into a stable blue cement wall, and swung just above the ground to the next building.

The people below waved and whooped as I swung, shouting praises and cheers to me, calling me their savior. I tried ignoring them, since all I really saw myself as was a person in the right place at the right time. I flashed them a fake smile in response to keep up the appearance of a happy hero on their way to another evil to face, hiding my inner turmoil.

It was conflicting, to see everyone happy that Infinite was gone, I however couldn't think that. I couldn't rest until I found him and made him remember the squad, "...make him remember me." I whispered quietly. To everyone else, Infinite was villan plain and simple. I bet Knuckles would lock me up for even looking for him, but to me he is more...was so much more. I needed to get back to our old hide out and figure out what happened, but first I needed to stop in Mystic Jungle. I never got to look for clues while I was there last.

Eventually my arm was tired from swinging and holding on for dear life as each swing threw me faster in the air that I decided to land on the nearest road and walk to the city limits. With a resounding whirl, the metal line retracted into my wrist launcher, and I tucked my body in to roll on the ground for a smoother landing. The stone was hard but the added protection and ease of movement made my landing as smooth as jumping from a 6ft ledge.

I dusted myself off from the sut that still layered on the ground as concrete debris was stacked to my left. 'The building must've collapsed when Ze-Infinite came and wrecked the town.' I mused as I kept walking. Egg-pawn parts also littered the street with a few dropped blasters with the G.U.N. insignia printed on them. 'Ah what a big help those idiots were...hiding in their bunkers while the world was being terrorized only to emerge in the final battle to claim credit.'

Anger flashed for a second before I calmed myself. 'Not here Gadget, save it for when you find out who killed the squad.' I replaced that anger with determination and resumed my trek at a jogging pace to Mystic Jungle. 'I just want to know who did it at least.' I monologued. 'Who made him who he became and who killed my family!'

"Hey it's the hero wolf!" A voice shouted towards me as I jogged on.

"I wonder where he's going." Another voice said.

"Is it true that he's mute?" A third voice rang in my ears. I sighed in annoyance at that last comment. No I wasn't mute, but after the thing that replaced my...friend...killed my second team I couldn't bring myself to speak, no speaking no leading right? I was contempt on continueing on, but a bunny child stopped my advance.

"Cwould I ave ur autograwf swir?" She asked, her buck teeth impailing her speach some as she held out a paper to me. I nodded with a smile and grabbed a pen from my belt. 'Always believe in yourself, Rookie.' Is what i wrote for her and she lit up like a christmas tree. "Tankyou swir!" She said happily before running off, probably to find her family. I glanced at the ground again with a sigh and tightened my gloved fist.

My thoughts wandered as I travelled as well as a mixture of many emmotions from fear to anger and then to sorrow. I came up to the edge of the city a few hours later and looked at the now desert hill that stood where green hill once was. 'Was it really worth it? Was it worth destroying the world for power?' I asked internally at no one in-particular. 'What drives anyone to do this? Green Hill is now like the Sava plains and Sunset Heights is it ruins.'

**-Unknown location, ? POV**

Cold, dark, and damp were the three things I could feel ever since Mystic Jungle who knows how long ago. My chest was throbbing from an artificial object seemingly implanted into it, hindering my breathing at first until my motor controls came back to me. "Mmphm..." I uttered, soon realizing something was jammed in my mouth, it felt like a large tube.

My eyes snapped open in a flash to see a blurry blue haze in my vision, bubbles rising from near my mouth, and loose restraints holding me in place. I struggled in my restraints but to no avail as all I was doing was just flailing in some form of tank. I ran out of stamina quickly and was forced to stop my struggle. 'Damn it, where am I? Was Shadow and his team responsible for this?' I thought as I tried to get a clearer picture of the world around me.

What my eyes were met with were misshapen and deformed black objects all around me with bright purple/pink gemstones in their chests. Hesitantly I looked to mine to see one in my chest as well but it was glowing brighter. 'Probably to signal I was alive.' Before I could muse more, my mind was pulled to a white light illuminating the ground outside my cage. Turning to the source, I was a shadow of a man whose torso was snapped like an egg, long legs, and a mustache no one could forget. 'Eggman'

A growl tried to escape my throat as the mad doctor walked into the room muttering mumbled words I couldn't understand until he reached my tank. "You caused this! You and your stupid memory! If you weren't so attached to that wolf that freed Sonic then none of this would've happened!" My mind was wrought with confusion as I let the words process before anger flared in me, causing me to press and prod at my restraints. 'If you so much as touched him or anyone else from the squad!' I screamed internally. "Hmm a fighter huh? Well if your clone was more like you then the world would've been mine! Now I have to scrap the entire project you weakling."

I struggled more in my chains, a bright light escaping my chest as I did but before anything more could happen, a large shock was sent into my tank. "Oh I don't think so. But since you have so much attraction to that friend of Sonic, I'll be sure he is the first I use in my new army!" Eggman taunted while laughing maniacally. The shock shot through every inch on my body, filling me with immense pain to the point of near blacking out. He smirked at my weak state and proceeded to begin typing on his computer.

Weakly I pounded on the glass to no avail, the gem glowing softly as it sat fused to my chest. 'You can lock me up Eggman but no one touches my squad! Especially not you!' I screamed again in my mind. 'Gadget and the others must be worried sick, how long was I out?' "Are you still awake? Hmm that shock should've rendered you unconcious, nothing another wont fix." With that more pain shot through my weakened frame. It felt like I was being burned alive from the inside out as it went. Bubbles from my respirator flew furriously as I screamed in agony before my vission faded away. 'I'll make you pay for this Eggman!'


	2. Escape From The Egg-city

**Chapter 2**

**-Flashback, 10 years prior, Third person POV**

It was a clear sky on this sunny day, the sand was scorching hot while most desert creatures hid in the crevices and cracks of shade from the scattered rocks. On a record heat wave like this, most Mobians would be locked indoors or withing their oasis communities. Unfortunately, some have the misfortune of being left in the ocean of sand to die.

Such was the case of a run-away 11 year old red wolf who was abbandoned after straying to far from his class on a field trip to a canyon not to far away. The child wanted to explore more than the allowed platform, so with his prototype grapple launcher he swung to the other side unnoticed. However, when he tried to get back, the bus had already left, leaving him alone in the wasteland.

The boy walked for hours on end to get back to his home in Station Square, but to no avail, having been tricked and fooled by mirrages all day. His throat begged for water or any liquid as the only source he could think of was his sweat but even then it wasn't nursing. To top that off, the wind began blowing hard, forcing sand pellets to strike his pelt for hours on end.

Eventually an small lake of water caught his eye. 'Finally something!' The boy thought as he used the last of his stamina to dash to it. He had no plan but to just run into the water and swim, but as soon as he drew close, the water faded to the ocean of sand.

'Damn it!' The wolf yelled in his mind defeated. his legs shook as his body felt heavier and heavier for him to hold up. A small whimper escaped his maw as he dropped to his knees and began crying like a defenseless pup. The sand plume he kicked up by landing, was blown into his chest by the wind, forcing him on his gloved hands. "Someone please help me..." He whimpered in exhaustion.

Seconds rolled into minutes as time went on, the wind died down some leaving a clamer breeze behind, but no one came to the aid of the pup. That was until a hooded figure emerged over a nearby dune and saw the red fur contrasting with the yello sandy plain. The figure was dressed in a white hooded cloak, carried a belt of supplies and rations, and was armed with a walking stick. Quickly the figure rushed over to the wolf, retrieving a canteen of water from his cloak and letting its hood fall back. "Hey are you ok?" The figure asked reaching the crying wolf.

"T-they left me..." The wolf replied. "They left me out here..." He was still sniffling but was relieved to see another Mobian. He tried standing up, but the exhaustion was to much and fell on his rear.

"Easy there, you've been walking a while huh?" The figure asked holding out his canteen to the boy. The wolf looked up and accepted the offer, noticing the figure was a jackal with black and white fur, mismatched color eyes, and a white patch on his right eye giving the illusion of a scar. The wolf shyly nodded in return.

"Thank you for the water." The wolf said taking a sip. The jackal smiled some with an affirming nod.

"It's no trouble, though my dad would hate me for doing it." The jackal replied. A sigh escaped his mouth before he looked in the dirrection he came. "Speaking of which i better be going soon, don't want to miss food."

"O-ok..." The wolf said handing back the canteen, but the jackal rejected it.

"Keep it, I've got spares." The jackal told him. The wolf nodded at the jackal and tried standing up again. The jackal pulled him up as they stood eye level with each other.

"Thank you mister jackal." The wolf said with a smile, his glasses a little cracked from the fall he had. The jackal observed the wolf's smile of innocence and chuckled some, holding out a hand.

"My name's Zero." The now named Zero said. The wold met him halfway with his white gloved hand.

"Gadget." The wold replied before coughing some.

"You said you were left out here right?" Zero asked. Gadget meekly nodded. "Tell ya what, I can take you back to my home. Then you can rest until you feel ready to travel again." Gadget perked up.

"Really?!" He exclaimed shyly earning a nod."O-ok that sounds great." Zero smiled and turned his back on Gadget, beginning his trek with the red wolf close behind.

**-Flashback end, Eggman base, Zero POV**

I awoke again feeling the same sensations I did the first time, but now I knew where I was. Grunting in frustration, I scanned my surroundings to see Eggman's blurry form gone but the mishappen creatures in tanks still around me. 'I need to find a way out of here before the fat bastard shows up again.' I mused.

Trying again, I struggled in my restrains to no avail. Kicking the glass didnt help anything but hurting my toes even with my angled boots on. The only response it gave was a ringing noise in the liquid I was in. 'Damn it, what is this tank made of?' I felt a twitch of pain in my toe as i tried again to no avail.

Bubbles from my respirator rose in a quicker fassion, showing my attempted growl which was near impossible with a tube shoved down my neck. I halted my struggles as I got out of breath from my thrashing and looked in my tank for any helpful options. As I looked, I notticed the chain shackle with a bend in it when my arms were at rest. 'Hmm maybe...' I thought as I swung my arm limply to the glass. The chain hit the glass with a thud and small cricking sound from it chipping. 'Yes it worked.'

With an idea formed, I began to slowly band the chain on the glass to chip it more. The gem glowed softly as I did this, but I tried avoiding it until the glass wouldn't chip any more. I looked at the gem defeatedly and decided to try reaching for it but my chain stopped me. 'Stupid thing, I would smash you apart if I had my weapon!' I thought angrily. The gem glowed brighter and a familiar red sword phased into existence in my right hand. My mix matched eyes widded in surprise from this. 'Where did this...?!' The blade felt real in my hand as well, like the actual tutanum it was made of, which scared me some. Curiousity took over, and I angled it at my left wrist cuff before swinging.

The blade cut through like a hot knife through butter as the reidual force almost hit my chest. 'Woah!' I said internally surprised as the blade was passed to my left hand. 'Did this gem spawn a super sword?' Again I swung at my restriant, making sure not to hit my hand, and again the same result. Looking down at my chest, the gem was glowing brighter than before. 'I don't like the look of that.'

As soon as I thought that, the sword vanished and the gem's glow softened. 'The hell...whatever, I just need to escape.' I shook my head and pounded on the glass with my now freed hands. The glass cracked and chipped as I body slammed it repeatedly until finally it shattered. The blue liquid poured out of the tank, taking me in the current and depositing me out on the floor. The tube was still jammed in my neck, which I used every fiber of my being to yank out, bringing blood up with it, but my breathing was ok.

The blood stained my wet white face fur as I slowly stood up on my shaking knees like it was the first time in a while since I walked. 'Ok I seriously need to know how long I was out for.' I turned to Eggman's computer with an idea. 'Maybe this can tell me what I need.' Apporaching it slowly, I had my body ready for if Eggman returned, but thankfully nothing of the sort happened as I reached the console. It's safe to assume I had no clue what exactly to type since I had no tech backup, but I at least was thankful Eggman didn't put a password on it. "Let's see what dirty secretes you have doctor." I said aloud to myself as I browsed in his folders. "...Robot plans, no, Ways to kill Sonic, no even though that cocky kid could use a good talking to, Mustache selfies? Ugh...aha this looks interesting." I stated clicking a folder named 'Project Infinite.'

What I saw made me disgusted beyond belief. Inside were plans, DNA data of me, designs for devices like the one in my chest, and video footage of a clone of me with a silver mask on. The footage showed me tearing cities to ruin, families massacared, and a video of me kicking the blue blur's ass, the last one to me was ok since I was only hurting him. Reading on, the file went on to explain that altered memories from me were implanted into them to make them loyal and that the reason they were chosen over me was due to a mishap with the gem, which I found out to be called 'The Phantom Ruby.' Anger filled my body again, 'So that's what he meant by my memory failing him! A stupid clone used as a weapon with my face!' I pounded the holokeyboard in anger, which rightly broke the projector and crashing the computer. The gem was glowing again as my sword came into being, this time with one intent...to destroy these clones.

I went to every tank and slashed, hacked, kicked, punched, whatever I could do to destroy the room full of over 100 of them. I made it through about 34 of them before alarms began blaring, "Warning containment breach in primary DNA chamber!" A voice said as red lights blared. 'My cue to leave.' I figured as I halted my progress and dashed to what looked like a door.

As if on command, the door slid open as I ran to it and shut again after I exited. 'Now to find the door.' I dashed off ahead of me and reached a junction where egg-pawns stood ready to blast me. Being able to growl in anger, I slashed and diced through them with no trouble at all. 'Jeez Eggman's bots are shit these days.'

I took a left at the junction as the corridor turned into a rail to grind on, promting me to balance for dear life as the rail passed over a bottomless pit. Who the hell though that was a good idea I will probably never know as Egg-fliers shot in front of me, charging their arm canons. 'Shit!' I exclaimed mentally as I put my hands up to guard myself when they fired. Instead of pain and agony though I felt...fine. Looking to my hands, I saw a wallof red cubes between me and the fliers. Again confusion was on my face, but it turned into a smirk as I threw my hands forward, sending the cubes into the fliers. 'I can get used to this' I thought l, but internally slapped myself. 'Only for Eggman's troops and the egg-head himself though. This is something way to powerful for anything else.' The rails turned back into a path with more pawns in front of me.

I thrusted my hand forward and more cubes shot forward in a concentrated blast, ripping them to shreds. Sprinting past their parts, the path split off again. I hesitated for a moment and took the right path. The path took me past swarms of buzz-bombers and more pawns who all had the intent to kill me. My 'fake' sword sliced the pawns to bits while i avoided the bombers as best i could, some shots nailing my back, but only stinging. 'Cheep ass bots.' Smirking at the carnage, I reached a thrid junction but stayed straight.

Thankfully, I chose correctly because a few doors later I stood on a railing overlooking the ash filled ground bellow. 'Now how do i get down?' I pondered, but I couldn't think long before metallic footsteps echoed in the passageway and a missle shot past me. 'I guess jump!' With that, I jumped from the 10 story height an plumeted down to the ground.

I flipped in the air a few times before jaming my sword into the wall to slow my decent, stopping 10ft off the ground. Letting go of the sword caused me to land with a thud, but when I looked to see the sword stuck in the wall, it was gone. 'This is just getting confusing.' I couldn't dwell much on it though as the doors behind me opened to have a few more ostrich bots with missile banks aimed at me.

Seeing that, I dashed as fast as I could, faster than I thought possible for a jackal, away from the base, leaving the slower bots in the dust. Once I was a km away, I looked at my chest to see it glowing brightly. I slowly rubbed my right hand over the gem which made a clinking sound when I did so. 'Just what in Chaos' name is this thing? And what did Eggman do with it while I was knocked out?' I thought as I dashed away. 'Maybe the squad can tell me what happened, but first I need to get back.'


	3. Revalation

**Chapter 3**

**-Resistance base, Thrid Person POV**

"I don't like it." Shadow said suddenly, causing Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Silver to stop what they were doing to face him.

"Don't like what?." Knuckles asked Shadow, setting down some boxes he was moving after it was decided the base would be abandoned. Amy and Tails resumed their work while Silver stayed to listen as well.

"That 'rookie' of yours leaving without mentioning it." Shadow answered a tone filled with uncertainty.

"Maybe he wanted to visit some family he had. Afterall, most of our members left after the battle without telling." Silver offered. Knuckles nodded in a agreement.

"While yes that is true, but they at least mentioned a place to return to. Our 'wolf hero' didn't. Speaking of that, had he talked at all during his time in the Resistance?" Shadow asked with a raised brow.

"Now that I think about it, no. The kid must've been traumatized by Infinite." Knuckles said as he picked up the box again. "Let him be Shadow, I'm sure it's fine."

"Yeah, besides didn't Sonic take off around the same time?" Silver added using telekinesis to move a brick pile near a hole in the wall. "Hardly anything to worry about."

"But how long have you known the faker?" Shadow inquired. "Yet we never even knew his name. He knows more about how we opperate than we do him as a person." Shadow sighed in frustration while crossing his arms.

"Shadow I get your point, but what do you want to do about it? Stalk him?" Knuckles asked annoyed at the black hedgehog. "As far as we all know, he hasn't commited any crimes."

"Not everyone is going to help us rebuild. Some want to fix what they know first before helping others, I mean didn't Vector and Espio find him running for dear life at one point before he joined?" Silver added, setting the pile down and facing Shadow. Said hedgehog rolled his eyes in response with a huff.

"I'm still going." He said, uncrossing his arms and walking to the metal door. Knuckles was about to protest before he teleported away. Knuckles growled in annoyance and threw his arms up, forgetting he had boxes in his hands, causing them to fly up without being noticed.

"I guess I should tell someone about it." Knuckles said before a clang above him was heard. Looking up, the red akidna was met with a stack of food rations falling down on him, squarely hitting his head. The rations burried the akidna alive while Silver watched. "Of all the times!"

"I-I'll do it." He said as Knuckles poked out only to be hit again.

"Ow..." Knuckles said before falling forward on the pile. Silver reached the comunications radio next to the old mid-room computer and typed in a code.

"Knux? What's up, miss me already?" A cocky voice said on the other end.

"It's Silver, Kunckles is kind of...indesposed..." As if on que Knuckles fell forward even more, leaving him neck deep in the rations.

"I see, so what can I do for you, Silver." The voice said with a hint of amusement at Knuckles' accident.

"Shadow is going after the rookie...he seems obsessed for some reason. I think we forgot to tell him he's probably mute." Silver replied. The voice made a sigh.

"Ok, I'll follow him to make sure he stays out of trouble." The voice said before ending the call.

"Alright Knuckles," Silver said turning to the akidna and walking to him, "I better take you to see Cream's mom."

**-?, Gadget POV**

I woke up this morning calm and rested, which wasn't a surprise to me, but what did surprise me was that the other side of the bed was empty. 'Hmm, I wonder where he is.' I thought as I climbed from the bed, the red blanket folding away from me as i sat up on the edge to let my legs dangle. 'Another job and not telling me I bet.' I figured I'd be alone this morning so I didn't bother with clothes or my glasses since i wasn't impared to much without them and went downstairs.

"Hello?" I asked in the house before a waffe of smells hit me, making me realise that the world had sound and there was life to live. The smell was that of pancakes, eggs, toast, and best of all, bacon; all presented to entice me with their charms. Like in a cartoon, I was lifted off my feet and drifted to the smell to see a figure by the stove cooking.

The figure had long white dreadlocks, a white rib pattern on his back, and a fluffy tail I couldn't help but smile at as it wagged to and fro. Humming escaped the figure as it cooked, the voice being deep and masculine, but soft and gentle in its own right. I decided with a smirk to sneak up on the figure, giving it a big hug from behind causing it to panic. "Ah!...Grrrr Gadget!" The figure said in mock anger but still surprised.

"Oh shut up you know you like it Zero." I replied, taking in the jackal's scent. I cough hear the roll of his eyes as he turned the fire off the bacon and turned to a tray with toast and eggs on it. "Wh-what's this...?" I asked noticing with a small glow on my cheeks and wagging tail.

"Well it was going to be breakfast in bed, but someone had to wake up and ruin my surprise." Zero replied with a fake pout as my tail wagged. "Well I guess we do have some time before the rest of the squad wakes up so..." He booped my nose causing m to grumble some, "Soup's on." I decided to take the tray to the table to begin eating, but as I began, I heard yelling outside.

"What's that?" I asked, Zero shot me a confused glare as I got up to check the door. When I opened it, I saw the buring homes of Park Avenue before me. Mobians cried in fear and were running away and past me.

Deciding to get my gear, I turned back to go inside only to find a gun on the ground and me already dressed in my combat gear. Pushing the confusion from my mind, I picked up the gun and ran towards the danger people were running from. Some Mobians ahead where in a heated battle with...something, causing me to dive behind cover. A sense of dread washed over me like a tidal wave, drowning all courage I hard as 5 screams echoed in my mind followed by modulated laughter.

Peeking over my cover, I saw the disfigured and burt bodies of my second team, Abby the bear, Clark the fox, Max the dog, Charlie the duck, and lastly Grace the wolf. Five friends that taught me to live again after the Jackal Squad died. Tears welled up in my eyes as that dread was replaced with fear, then terror, and finally anger. My grip on my gun tightened as I turned up to face the person responsible to see...Zero...floating there in a silver mask, gloring red aura around him. "W-what!?" I said biting through my anger.

Zero turned to me with a pressence so strong I could sense his smirk as he fired at the ground in front of my feet, knocking me off balance. I landed hard on the ground with a thud. "H-How...how could you?!" I shouted as more tears fell. I raised my blaster and shot at him, only for them to harmlessly miss due to my shaking hands.

"Oh does the little wolf want to fight? To bad..." Zero began in his taunting tone, earning more shots, one nailing his shoulder. I heard his growling as he blasted my weapon from me.

"How could you break you're promise you...you...bastard!" I shouted with pure hate and sorrow in my tone, rivers of tears flowing from my eyes. Zero looked inquisitive before I saw his visible eye widden slightly in realization. A dark laugh was emenating from his being as he hovered there.

"You ask a dead man about a promise he is not bound to keep? How weak of you, to cling to that weakling." Zero spat as his hand charged another beam of death, pointed at me. "Time to wake up, weakling." With that he fired at my motionless form. I was to heartbroken to move as the beam struck, forcing me into a sea of white and red.

**-Sand Hill, former Green Hill, Gadget POV**

"No don't!..." I shouted, waking up from a nap I had under a tree. I was panting hard and sweating, my fur so damp one would think I just went swiming recently. Tears streamed down my face only to be slowly cooked by the sun shining on me. "It was...it was a dream..." I sad as I silently sobbed. After a few minutes, I picked myself up off the ground and continued my hike.

'It felt so real...those...images.' I mused as the sun beat down on me, causing me to drink some water from my canteen. I wiped my tears and sniffled some, hanging my hed after I slid my canteen in a combat pouch. My stomache growled as I grabbed a ration bar and bit a small chunk from it before putting it up. 'A day's walk to the jungle. Now all I have to do is make it without a sandstorm. It's not like plains have those though.'

I looked up briefly, taking off my glasses to see the sun about midway in the sky. 'Great that nap cost me half a day! At least I can look forward to the cool night.' I put my glassed on and opened another combat pocket to pull out andold up hat. The hat was cotton based and folded into something similar to a hood but was tied under my neck. Thandfully the cotton was a light deterrent color so it wouldn't heat up so much while I walked, but the warm hat still caused me to sweat.

Sand and dirty grass litttered the ground as well as rocks and old totem poles jutting out of the ground like monuments to ancient beings of old. The once georgious water was not contained in small pockets where the last reminants of green lay while the region tried to claw it's way bqck to normality. Some animals still lived in those pockets, but as for Humans and Mobians, it was abandoned long ago. The landscape filled me with a tinge of loneliness since no one was around, but I couldn't let that stop me.

Soon I reached a canyon of high rocky cliffs and shot my grapple out to hopefully save time. The canyon reminded me of the one that lead me to my...er...that stupid jackal, but since Green Hill was no where near the UFE's (United Federal Empire) captial, it made distinguishing the two easier, but the result would be the same.

I swung through loops, over bridges, and even past old robots I smashed that the sand had yet to claim while I traveled, coming up on the mother of all robots here, the crab mech. The mech had longsince powered down and was sideways up to the sky, my old line still dangling from its legs but more loosely like a piece of string rather than an piece o fhigh polimer metal wire. 'Heh if only that man wasn't evil, he could be teaching and making the world a better place for all.' I thought, landing next to the bot to salvage what line I could. 'At least this line is just loose and not snapped or wheatered down. Tutanum was probably the best choice.'

Managing to salvage 20ft of wire, I pried off some pannels on the legs to grab circuit wire just incase. Satisfied with my work, I set off again to my destination, an odd feeling like I was being watched creeping up. I grunted at my paranoia and pushed it aside to avoid its distracting lies. 'Maybe that nightmare did more than I thought.' Again I wanted to surpress it and stay determined, but the seed of doubt was planted, doubt he'd want to be saved, doubt he'd welcome me back in, doubt he'd... Sighing, I looked back to my right hand, gaining all the devotion I needed before focussing on swinging on.

An hour later the canyon came to an end, leading off into a valley of brown grass and trees. The wind had picked up speed to a midle gust, but nothing to dangerous yet as I landed, but it did throw me off balance. :You have to acount for wind speed bro.: A female voice said in my mind as a reminder. 'Yeah, yeah I got it 9 years ago, don't remind me.' To push it away, I shook my head and kept walking, my head still hung. 'But thanks anyway...'

The sun was a quarter till setting when I reached the end of the valley, staring at the beginings of pure grass land. I took another sip, this one a little longer than normal, and walked onto the grass making sure the heat wasn't playing tricks on my mind. Thankfully it wasn't as the entrance to Mystic Jungle loomed ahead like a dragon waiting to be slayed by a caliant knight...well not valiant but still a knight none-the-less. 'Time to get answers.'

**-Sand Hill, former Green Hill, ? POV**

I knew he was faking it, and with him taking some parts of that trash heap with him it means he's up to something, but what? I glanced up at his destination, Mystic Jungle, with ancocked brow, both arms crossed. 'hmph, Eggman's old base? Wonder why there...isn't that where he got the...oh no.' I thought realizing what me must be doing. 'I knew he wasn't all we thought he was...to think they didn't believe me.'

I dashed after the Rookie once he fired his hook into the tree line, hoping to cut him off, but since I didn't know what route he'd take, I was forced to be at a distance. My mind studied his acrobatic flips and maneuvers for possible attack openings if things turned ugly. I smirked as I got the jist of every move I presumed he knew as he dodged ancient pillars, that giant snake that would be the dealth of everyone, and hopped into the rapid flowing river tubes. 'Yep he's heading to Eggman's base alright.'

I noticed him stop swinging and starting to run along the paths carved by long vines and holes dug out in trees, following a similar path I did 8 months ago when I eleminated Eggman's mercinary group as well as a few bots along the way. I followed close behind, but made sure to stay slow enough that he wouldn't see me if he turned around. The Rookie didn't even turn around, but instead finished off some active blade fliers to cross casims, while I teleported across and waited for him.

Night decended rapidly as the woods became more and more dense before we both reached Eggman's base entrance. "Ok Zero, time to find out what happened." I heard the wolf say as I stood behind a pillar to watch. Rookie then begand a vigorous search of the area, as if looking for something. I scanned around as well until I saw a piece of red reflective metal sticking out of the ground. 'It was stronger than what I thought it was apparently.'

Rookie noticed it to and dashed over to it. "Wh-wh-what...? H-H couldn't...He'd never breakt this...he said it meant the world..." The wolf said picking up the piece of metal. I raised a brow at this, 'Did he know that mercenary turned mad man?' The wolf looked on the verge of tears while holding the object, so I decided to make my presence known with a cough. Rookie nearly jumped from his skin and looked around frantically until I emerged from my spot.

The wolf looked petrified and quickly tried to hide the metal while shaking his boots, it was actually ammusing to me. "What's that behind you rookie?" I asked him with a nuetral tone and crossing my arms. He tried looking confused, but his face denied his bluff as fear was still painted across it. "I saw you take that metal object, now what do you know about it?" I asked. The Rookie looked down, his arms dropping to revealing the metal piece.

I snatched it without a second thought and glared at him. "Why are you seeking him out?" I questioned. I got no reply but a hesitant shrug. "How do you know about what this is?" Again no answer so I slapped him with annoyed look on my face. "Did you know him before the war, and if so, why was he and that waste of time team of his working for Eggman?" I glared at the wolf who clutched his right cheek in pain. His eyes seemed in a more surprised state as he turned to me. I noticed liquid forming in them and sighed. 'Great now he's going to cry.'

"...y...y...you..." He whispered much to my surprise, I expected him to keep up his act longer but apparently one slap broke him. "y...y...y...you...k-k-killed t-th-them..." I raised a brow at that statement. 'What does that mean?' I thought, not noticing the rookie steal the fragment back until it was already in his hand as he stood a few feet from me again.

"Hey, give that back rookie, you still have some explaining to do." I said. I expected now a normal response, but instead, his hands were shaking violently, his face was contorted into some form of evil smirk, he gave me hate filled eyes. A snarl escaped his mouth which secretly made me jump a little. "Rookie...?" The wolf didn't respond and held the fragment like a dagger. Seeing this I took a defensive stance when his grapple launcher fired into a pillar behind me, I regretfully turned to look at it, only to hear a howl which forced me to look at the charging k-9 with the dagger poised at my heart to strike. 'Shit.'


	4. Demons Within

**Chapter 4**

**-Mysitc Jungle Abandoned Base, Shadow POV**

'Shit.' Is all my mind could think of as I sidestepped at the last second to avoid the 'dagger' the wolf held. The blade missed the intended target thankfully, but tore a gash in my left arm, forcing me to bite back a yelp as the Rookie shot past me. "What the hell Rookie!" I shouted at him as he landed roughly. The wolf had landed sideways on a totem pillar and was looking at me with drool falling from his exposed canines while he looked at me with a predatorial glare. 'Damn it he's probably to far gone right now.' I quickly shot a glance to my now bleeding arm to see it was a mildly deep gash with blood staining my black fur like a new stripe.

"I-I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" He shouted, his voice intermixed with howls like he was summoning a pack far more vicious than himself before launching again at me. The grapple this time was aimed at me, which I dodged making it land on the brick wall next to the large steal door. I didn't make the same mistake of looking away as he charged but instead dodged left and delivered a hard kick as he shot by. The wolf was knocked to the ground a few feet away from the wall, a small cracking sound could be heard as he landed. 'I should try knocking away his glasses, maybe without them he would be to confused to fight.' I planned. Rookie picked himself up and wiped dirt from his muzzle. It was my turn not to give a response but simply watch him for his next move. I could tell he was doing the same, his yellow eyes darted to and fro to find an opening. He must've found what he was looking for because he dashed forward, forcing me to jump back and prepare my counter.

"Chaos Spear!" I said and instantly about 20 yellow spears of light appeared, beginning their trek to the Rookie. I'll admit the Rookie was skilled, most lethal shots were deflected with the crude dagger, but the ones that did land cut his chest and left cheek, making a gash up and over the eye as the spear barely missed the glasses. However the attack didn't slow him down, and when I landed, I received a hard punch to the jaw, knocking me sideways. I found my balance and punched him with my left arm, but the pain from the cut flared up intensely. The force caused me to need to soften it, else it was going to open more.

My gloved fist connected to his face and he was blown back, but due to the softer impact, it was only enough to bruise. It still provided the distraction I needed since he put his cobat glove to his face, opening up an avenue for a roudhouse kick to his chest. I aimed for the aforementioned cuts and used my shoe to force them open widder. The wolf was knocked back again, hitting the ground hard and rolling along his side till he hit back first into a pole. I could hear a small pop and smirked thinking the fight would be over, but the Rookie started picking himself up again, the dirt from the ground being the only indicator of his wounds aside from the skin exposed on his face.

The Rookie was shaking on his legs and his back was hunched forward. His arms dangled with it but the dagger held firm in his hand made me cautious as I decided to dash over to finish it. Oddly though, the red wolf sidestepped at the last minute and punched my chest on the left side. My arm blocked it, but his fist hit the gash and made it flare up more as it started bleeding worse. He then tried slashing me again, which I rolled away to dodge but he was still pressing the offensive.

Shashing, puching, kicking, and even biting where his main form of attack as I was slowly backed into the brick wall. He made a jab at my face which I ducked to dodge; however, as soon as I did that, the wolf slashed my leg just before the knee. This time I grunted in pain and proceeded to kick him with a bycicle kick to his chin.

His body flew up and I teleported into the air to kick it back down to the ground, making him land with a thud. "Stay down." I warned, trying to ignore my leg but the pain being nearly unbearable. I heard a moan of pain and anguish from the wolf as well as panting as he slowly lifted his bruised body up again, His glasses shattered to pieces, bruises covering him, and the cuts I made so pronounced I knew they would scar.

"W-w-w-why..." He started coughing, blood pouring from his maw. "W-why d-did you..."

"Because him and his squad were working with Eggman. If you were here, I bet you'd know your little 'friend' was evil from the start." I replied walking over to him, confident our battle was over.

"W-we..." The wolf began before stopping his speech, but stayed still looking at the ground. I was withing 3ft of him now, limping from my leg and about to grab the weapon when suddenly, slash. I widdened my eyes as I felt a slash along my chest, thankfully it wasn't to much but it caught me off guard, leaving me open for the wolf to tackle me and wailing on my face. From a thrid person's perspective I bet it looked like a pully pinning down a defenseless child, but each blow had a weight of hatred behind them. My vission was blurry after the first few punches, but after about 10 he stopped and raised the dagger high above his head. I tried to seize the chance but the only free arm was my injured on while my good arm was pinned. "First I'll teach you fear, then pain..." The wolf began in a dark tone. "And then? Well...at least the fear and pain will end."

"Stop!" A second voice shouted as a blue blur flashed over me and knocked the Rookie away. I blinked to stabilize my vission some and saw the faker himself on top of the wolf, pinning him down to the ground while trying to beat off struggles. I tried standing up, but the adrenaline finally wore off, causing me to feel the full force of my injury like a frieght train plowing through me. "Buddy calmn down I won't hurt you."

"GET OFF OF ME!" The wolf yelled as he struggled, "THAT MONSTER KILLED THEM!" He was yelling at full volume, snarling and trying to bite Sonic, but the faker was quick enough to avoid the strikes.

"What are you talking about?" Faker asked in confusion, loosening his grip long enough to let the Rookie knock him away and try to get away. The launcher on his wrist fires into the tree line but before he can get away, Faker tried tackling him only to get pulled with him into the brush. Faker yelled out in surprise as the two rocketed from view. 'No we have a serious problem.'

**-Mystic Jungle Third Person POV.**

As Gadget and Sonic flew through the jungle, Gadget tried to shake Sonic off, but his already weakened state made it to hard to do so. Sonic was yelling in surprise until they roughly landed on a ledge a few hundred feet away from Shadow and obstructed by trees of the night time jungle. After the landing, Sonic picked himself up to see Rookie laying ton the ground, his lenses shattered, the frame of the glasses bent, multiple cuts looking like they might scar, and his combat radio broken and bent. Bruises darted the body of the wolf, but he still was trying to get up. "Rookie please stop." Sonic said in a worried tone as the wolf's growls softened to whimpers. When the blue blur saw Gadget's face after progressively getting closer, there were tears running down it, mixing with the blood from the cut to his cheek and eye.

"W-why did you stop me?" Gadget asked between sobs as the adrenalin slowly wore off.

"Because you were going to kill Shadow. What do you mean he killed 'them?'" Sonic asked, "Who is 'them?'" Gadget, forcing himself on his hand and knees in an assisted pushup position, turned to him, the red mixture seeping into his dust covered fur as more and more pain filled his body.

"M-m-my family..." He said before passing out. Sonic blinked in confussion at that and looked in the dirrection they traveled. 'He must've been mistaken, the clones disappeared after we destroyed thay robot... but this is the first time I think I've heard him be so vocal about something. I should ask him more when he wakes up, but he's going to need some help...and Park Ave. is to far away.' The blue blur looked to some leaves and back to Gadget before grabbing them for use. 'Maybe that training Vanilla gave me would help...' Sighing some, Sonic began running for leaves to heal Gadget's wounds, hoping he can fix the wolf up.

**-?, Zero POV**

I was in a room of pure white which startled me as I was coming to the threshhold of Rail Canyon when I decided to rest. Standing up slowly, I noticed the gem was still attached to my chest, but it was dimmer than before. 'Must not be active.' I mused. As I looked around the empty space that was this void, I heard a screaming voice of a woman in the distance. I snapped from my curriousity and dashed after it, using the ruby to accelerate, but the voice never seemed to be getting closer. In fact it seemed dimmer so I stopped in my tracks with a skid to listen for the voice.

The screaming had turned to crying, this time of a male which unnerved me some, but I slowly walked to where I thought the sound was coming from. As I walked, my mind was focussed on one thing which was starting to unnerve me even more, 'Why is the crying the only sound?' I felt a flash of fear before I called out to the voice. "Hello? Is anyone th-" I stopped when I came to a realization...the crying was on repeat. Looped over and over after a few seconds like a MTube video you throw on repeat when you want to watch again. My feet stopped moving toward and started away from the noise in response from that revelation.

After taking 10 steps back, I turned to take one step forward away when I saw a red blip in the distance. Confused, I dashed away from the crying and toward the blip. As Inclosed the gap, I noticed it was Gadget in the distance but his eyes held no color as he blankly watched my approach. When I reached him, I tackled him into a full-on hug. My tail was wagging furriously as I did so, but he didn't react and instead remained motionless like a statue. I slowly got up confused but when I looked him over. I noticed he was paler than usual. His fur was almost akin to pink and I hesitantly backed up a foot when he got up and pointed at me. I looked at him confused and turned to avoid his hand but it followed me with pin point accuracy. "Gadget what's wrong?" I asked but then he spoke one word, a word I would never forget, traitor.

I started backing away when I hit something hard, I turned arround to see Conor from the squad there, his grey bandana coving his mouth with his 10-gallon hat, and blue/grey shorts. "Conor?" Again he pointed at me and said the same word. My heart began racing as I slowly realized I was being surrounded by my former squad mates Ronal and Ninda while helping the other two.

They slowly approached me and hauled me onto their shoulders forward to the crying sound while chanting traitor. I squirmed in their grip as I was hoisted up, trying to break free of this nightmare but to no avail. What did end up happening was us actually getting closer to the sound, but what I saw as the source terrified me. It was a titanic sized look black snake body who could easily be as tall as a tower in Metropolis. It had two tin arms but long enough for its 'torso' and the head was a long silver mask with the exposed eye having black glass connections to each side which I be the other eye shared. The creature also had long white dreadlocks behing the mask and swept back k-9 ears protruding from behind the face.

When we arrived the crying stopped and the rest of the squad dropped me harshly on the floor in front of it chanting traitor the entire time. The creature turned to face me with a squint in it's eyes. It looked to the squad and then to me before a massive oily purple/pink tongue slid from under the mask and slid along it like a hungry predator looking at its meal. My feet were rooted to the ground as I watched it rear its head back before the mask split open on all faces revealing a set of teath for each flap. The beast used a finger to pin me down as the mouth approached me, slowly but surely filling my vission with blackness.

**-Rail Canyon, Zero POV, 27 miles from UFE boarder **

"Gah!" I shouted as I awoke again to the familliar sight of purple sky, several armoured war trains of one of Eggman's bases from a failed plan, and the varrious rails and paths being the only way to navigate the canyon. I tried calming my breathing as I sat on the armored back of one such train that was stopped near a station for rearming. The fact I was again near an Eggman base made me annoyed, but at least this base wasn't active like the last fortress.

Deciding it would be best to set off, I decided to hop off the train I was on and proceed to the UFE boarder where Metropolis was situated at. 'Just what the fuck was that dream?' I asked myself as I used my ruby to get moving. 'Could that've been some form of failed creature Eggman created?' Shivering a little bit I pushed it out my mind, chalking it up to a nightmare, and continued down the corkscrew of rails and platforms on the final legs of Rail Canyon.

I tried not looking down as to avoid distraction as the current rail I was on came to an abrupt end, forcing me to jump onto a zipline course above me which lead to another station with broken second gen egg-pawns and boxes of blaster rifles and ammo. Landing with a thud, I noticed there was a flight of stairs leading upwards to a light source not natural. I decided to chance it to see what was up, so I climbed the staris leadind into the cliff face.

When I reached the top, I was met with a tunnel and an unarmed train next to a platform with a sigh before the entry saying, 'City Escape Shuttle, Power Plant.' I cocked my head at that message. 'Escape train? Why would the doctor need this if he had his Eggmobile?' I mused as I inspected the locomotive. The engine held the black and red color scheme the resh of the trains did, but this one was less armoured and only took up two tracks instead of three. The train took on a more bullte-train vibe and also seemed to be a different style wheel base because of that, looking like a standard train aside from the paint job. 'Maybe in case his Eggmobile failed...?'

There was a button next to the door, that when I pushed it opened the door with a hissing noise. Inside was a brightly lit room with a single chair and control console. Smirking some at the possibility of shortening my trip, I walked inside as sat down. The chair must've been a pressure sensor because as soon as I sat down, the door closed and I was buckled in. "Foiled again! How dare that hedghog, no matter, I assure you have a better invention in the power plant of the nearest UFE town." A recording of Eggman's voice said. I grunted as a button with his face rose out of the right console saying 'Go!' I slamed the button down and the train went 0-400 mph in three seconds, making me almost loose my nonexistent lunch. "Next stop the power plant."

**-?, ? POV**

"Powered up? what do you mean by that?" I asked the person I was taking to while holding the report. Apparently a strange signiture was reported in Rail Canyon matching the Phantom Ruby. "Tell me he isn't still alive."

"We don't know sir, most of our satilites were destroyed in the initial attack on the world." My subordinate said.

"Fuck...I want you to keep an eye on it Captain. If it is Infinite, I want him alive." I ordered. He noded. "Take the best men and machines, we need all hands on deck if we are going to finish this."

"Yes sir," He replied before walking out of my office. I rubbed my old hand on my wrinkled face with a sigh and looked at the report. 'Chaos please let it not be _him_.'


	5. Truth

Chapter** 5**

**-Egg-fortress, Eggman POV**

'How dare he! After I blessed it with that gift, the jackal escapes, and what of my already beaten defenses?.' I was fuming with anger, after that damned pest escaped, destroyed the clones, and data regarding the ruby...I was let with one final copy of the original, one of two perfected rubies with self sustaining energy. I sat at my main computer console, lost in thought on what to do with the gem in my possession. "I knew I should have implanted it into Metal Sonic, but then again I dont a repeat of the 'carrier incident.'" I said thinking out loud.

"What carrier incident boss?" Cubot asked confused. I groaned in annoyance, but thankful he didn't posses the memories of one of my bigger failures.

"I thing the boss means-" Orbot began before I cut him off.

"Mention it and I'll build a copy of you to ruin your life." I warned, turning my chair to them. I shot a glare at Orbot who backed off and turned back to my computer. "Now that the only vessel compatible for the ruby has escaped and will possibly try to find the hedgehog, I need a new plan."

"Why not find someone else boss?" Orbot asked.

"You idiot the ruby only responds to the-" I paused and thought about it as the dim glow from the computer screen illuminated the room. 'They do respond only to those who activate them. Didn't that pup of the Resistance activate it once.' I mulled over in my head before alarms began blaring, two at once.

One was for my abandoned base at Mystic Jungle while the other was in...Rail Canyon? I pushed Canyon's alert away as faulty old wiring and tapped the screen on the jungle base. "What is it?" Cubot asked. I ignored him and continued until I found security tapes of the entrance. The video in question came on screen to show the stupid friend of that failure and Shadow fighting. I started smirking at this and mentally thought about the perfected ruby and the chaos emerald I used as a back-up power source. The fighting continued for about another minute before Sonic stepped in and both he and that pest were whisked into the jungle like a viper leaping at it's prey.

After that the video feed was of Shadow collapsed on the jungle floor before I cut back to the ruby diagnostics on another tab. The dumb bots must've noticed my smirk because as soon as I did that they piped up. "What do you have in mind boss?" Orbot asked looking between me and the console?" I chuckled darkly and came to my conclusion on my plan.

"Wouldn't you like to know idiot." I replied my chuckling turning into laughing as I put a picture of the wolf Sonic called a friend next to the ruby. "Oh hoho this is going to be fun. I may have not turned Tails against you that day, but I dont need that cannon to change this one! And when I do...He'll be your destruction!" I started laughing as I stood up dramatically to emphasize my point. My right hand was extended into the sky with it looking like I was clutching a baseball, while my left was clenched in a fist near my pocket. I didn't hear my robots' complaints/praises as I turned to the door, it opening with a hiss as I stepped through. "Just you wait Sonic, I will have the world again, and this time not even your super form will stop me."

**-Flashback 10 years ago, Third Person POV**

"So why would you miss dinner if you came home late?" Gadget asked as Zero and him walked through the wasteland that was the Covo desert.

"Because jackals eats everything they can get their hands on when they are hungry. That or he wants me to 'learn' to meet deadlines for the future." Zero replied as they crested a dune and saw a town in the distance. It was made like a city that had been burried in a post apocalyptic fashion, skyscrapers were tilted and windows were smashed while other buildings were made from the rubble of once standing ones. Gadget became a little nervous by the sight.

"Y-y-you're not going to eat me are you?" Gadget asked nervously. Zero turned back to him with a hungry smirk and licked his chomps at Gadget in a teasing manner which made the wolf jump from his skin in fear. Zero laughed at the reaction.

"No we don't eat Mobians." Zero said still cracking up while Gadget shot an irritated glare his way. "Oh don't be such a baby about it, it was only a joke." Gadget crossed his arms but was softer in expression and caught up with the jackal.

"S-so what is it called?" Gadget asked shyly.

"Beacon city...after the shift..." Zero replied. Gadget looked surprised as well as shocked.

"It did this?" Gagdet asked to which Zero nodded. Gadget gulped, he heard about the shift, that when the world shifted closer to the sun it devastated lives, but he never knew it could do so much.

"We need to keep moving." Zero said as he pointed to the declining sun. "I'll have to sneak you into the house, my dad hates wolfs." Gadget cocked his head and was about to ask when Zero shut him up. "Best not to ask why." Gadget nodded and the two made their way to Beacon City.

When the two arrived 30min. later, Gadget looked around in curiosity, taking in the new smells that reached his nose as well as the atmosphere the town created. It felt like a community even though most shops were either closed or closing before nightfall. The lights the city produced proceeded to give an oddly relaxing contrast to the prupling sky of the planet, and Mobians of avian and canine predatorial origin were the main residents with hawks and foxes being the main cast around right now. As Gadget marveled, Zero led him to a rudimentary shack made from the two floors of a bank that used to stand there. Gadget stood still at the imposing wooden door that was clearly ripped from an office building, while Zero sighed. "When I go in, get behind something and make your way to my room, it's the last door on the right down the hall on the left." Gadget nodded and was right behind his jackal savior when the door was thrown open. As instructed, Gadget ducked behind a cabinet that jutted from the wall while Zero walked into the room. "I'm home." He called into the house with a gruff voice.

Gadget decided now was the time to move and he ducked under a coffee table while footsteps approached. A slap was hear by Gadget and he turned to see Zero holding his face in pain. "You were almost late." A deeper male voice belonging to a figure two times as tall as Zero. Zero's ears flattened some like he smelled something repulsive, Gadget sniffed the air to see what was up, but nearly gaged from the alcohol smell in the house, seeping from the floor.

"And you're drunk again, what a surprise." Zero remarked earning another smack.

"Don't talk to me like that boy!" He then sniffed Zero and growled. Gadget watched in fear while slowly entering the hallway. "Is that fuckin' wolf I smell on you?" Zero didnt respond, earning a smack.

"Fine." Zero growled. "There was one dying in the desert. I gave it some water and went my way." The elder figure growled at Zero and threw the boy into the wall, making their unseen watcher have enough and run to Zero's room to hide. More shouting and fighting ensued in the main room while Gadget sat on the floor like a child listening to their parents divorce. Silently the wolf cried, feeling responsible for the beating until everything got quiet. His ears erected themselfs up as slowly he listened to creaking floor boards as the knob turned. Instinctively Gadget hid under a pile of clothes as Zero entered the room.

Gadget watched the young jackal as he clutched his face in pain from a hole in his spot before revealing himself. Zero was unfazed and just silently sat on his bed. "I-I'm sorry..." Gadget said getting no response as Zero silently wept with his hand clutching his right eye. Gadget sat next to the jackal and instinctually started rubbing Zero's back with his hand. At first Zero didn't respond, but eventually a small murring noise was detected by the wolf. This went on for several minutes until the jackal shook the wolf off, their wordless moment and the realization Gadget made caused him to be flush while doing so but Zero turned to him with a small smile and nodded at the wolf. Gadget smiled back and in both their minds, they knew they would be strong...together.

**-Mystic Jungle, 4hr after fight, Gadget POV**

When I woke up, it felt like 20 cars hit me, but when I tried to move, my body ached all over. "O-ow..." I whimpered in pain as my chest and felt like they were burning from the inside out. I opened my eyes open a crack to see my vission blurred and skewed like if i was underwater. I patted arounf me to find my glasses only to find the destroyed plastic frame of them on the ground. I was confused at first and then events from earlier flooded in, from me investegating the woods to me attacking Shadow.

My hand now went to my belt to grab my spare pair of glasses when I heard a rustling sound to my left. I turned my eye that dirrection to see the bushes waving frantically to and fro. My body was still burning from my injuries, which I still didn't know how bad they would be until I saw myself, but I rolled on my chest anyway. Slipping my spare glasses on, I picked myself up to my knees, noticing my arms had many shades of blue on them from bruising. I sat on my knees, head pointing down while I panted. If the entity was hostile I would be defenseless to stop it from ripping me limb from limb, but instead Sonic emerged and stopped. I didn't know why because all I could see where the edges on his running shoes in my vission. I tilted my head up as I began picking myself up, my legs shaking violently under my weight. Sonic rushed over and helped me up by putting himself under my arm and lifting, much to my leg's satisfaction. "Take it easy buddy." He said. I gave no response aside from my clearly pained expression as I clentched my teeth to bite back my pain. He guided me over to rest by a tree truck, which I sat up by while he looked me over head to toe. "I wish you two wouldn't have been fighting. Who started it?" I looked down and away to indicate I was the guilty party which he seemed to get. "Why?" I stayed silent, hoping I wouldn't need to speak, but I bet Sonic heard my shouting yesterday anyway. "You can tell me...I-I heard you talk yesterday Rookie." I sighed and looked up at him.

"My name's Gadget." I said with a strained tone to correct him. Honestly I never liked the nickname 'Rookie' anyway.

"Oh...well what halpened?" He asked me. I looked away from him and to my chest to see leaf bandages around my chest, covering most of my torso. The air was tense between us for a solid few seconds before I spoke up.

"H-he killed them..." I said answering him with my voice still strained from my injuries.

"Who did he kill?" Sonic inquired, a curious/cautious tone in his speech.

"m-m-my family..." I said trying to not loose control as the memory of the squad's coms going to static one by one surfaced.

"Roo-Gadget...the Shadow clones vanished when Infinite was defeated." He told me in a sympathetic voice.

"It wasn't a clone! That damned hedgehog admitted it!" I snapped, causing Sonic to flinch away instinctively. I felt my body begin shaking in anger but I managed to control it enough to not lash out. "H-he is responsible for Infinite.." Some tears fell as it was still a touchy subject for me, but I noticed Sonic looked both surprised and confused.

"...wha- I don't understand." He said, an expression of deep thought written on his face as he processed my words. "How is he responsible? Didn't Eggman create that guy?" I shook my head, more tears falling from my anger built up, expressing itself the only way I would let it.

"It was 9 months ago-"

**-Flashback, 9 months ago Metropolis, Same POV**

"Conor when you get back you are so dead!" I shouted over the radio as I looked at my computer. When I logged on after the rest of the squad went on mission, I found some...images...on sceen which made my nose bleed when I saw them. I blew my nose as I looked at the TV sized screen of the ops computer.

"Oooooo better watch out Conor, Gadget'll take away your toy again." Ninda said in her mocking tone to Conor. Said jackal chuckled over the com.

"Ye mess wit te wolf to muc." Ronald said in my defense as I heard an explosion on his end.

"Cut the chatter for now..." Zero said cutting it as metal sliced through steel on his end of the line. "How far until our target Gadg?" I looked at their locator beacons and where the target was located.

"5 kliks northeast." I replied. "I'll need time to hack into the systems so in the mean time you can try causing a diversion. I don't need to be countered." I added in a suggestive tone.

"You heard him squad, fan out and cause a diversion." Zero said.

"On it boss." Conor responded.

"Breaking bots is my jam boss." Ninda commented.

"Ye needn't say a ting more." Ronald answered. The forest sounds played from their radios as I heard them rustle and rumble through the brush. 'I wish I was brave enough to be out there.' I monologued as I opened up my network key algorithm and began my work. The work was going smooth, the guy who designed the system I was hacking into was surprisingly stupid enough to not leave adequite protection from remote entry, but a major firewall still protected the other hideouts with the same datalink.

"How ye comin' Gadg?" Ronald asked while a slamming sound played in the background, I bet he was trashin defenses.

"Going smooth, about 7 minutes and I'll be in." I said confidently. Data mining for into on files we stole from this guy's other bases made even easier, making the job a 2 minute one but I wanted to let them have fun smashing stuff. My relaxed mental state was soon about to leave me as an unidentified radio signal was intercepted.

"I'm at the jungle...seems that it may be harder than first planned." A deep male voice said as I focussed to listen.

"Define 'harder.'" A female voice replied.

"A Mobian is helping the bots." The male replied.

"He's getting outside help?" The female said.

"Hmph appears so, I'm engaging." The male said before the line went dead. Panic was starting to creep in as I detected the location of the male voice next to Conor's transponder.

"Conor I think you may have incoming." I said in a warning.

"More bots to smash?" He asked.

"N-n-no s-something..." I was cut off when his radio went off.

"I aint no damned sympathiser!" He shouted. "I think I found your company...damn this guy is good..." It was then when I heard a bark in pain followed by a snapping noise. "I can use some hel-the fuck how did...?" Another snapping noise came from his end, his dialogue never finished.

"Conor?...Conor!?" Zero chimmed in on the line. "Damn it what happened?"

"It sounded like he ran into some company...my god I can see the body from here." Ninda said.

"I could use some help here mates!" Ronald pipped in.

"On my way." Zero said as wind rushed over his reciever.

"G-guys...C-Conor...h-he's..." Ninda began with a mix of anger, fear, and sadness. Ronald's radio snapped to and just as Zero arrived, I noticed the unknown dart away to the entry way.

"H-he's what...?" I began.

"Damn...same for Ronald...Gadget where is this guy?!" Zero exclaimed. I understood why he shouted but it still caught me off guard. That's when I noticed the second hacking attempt and locked it out before it could detect me.

"At the entrance...it seemed to teleport there..." I said frantically typing. "I had to lock out a second remote access key but it alerted the VIP."

"Forget the VIP! I'm going kill that bastard!" Ninda exclaimed.

"Ninda don't!" Zero yelled, but it was to late as her radio was a series of grunts, howls, and snarls before another snapping noise like Ronald and Conor's. Zero growled even more after that as I watched his signal rush to the door. I was welling up with tears as I heard silence from the other lines...my body trembling as I was powerless to save my family. Zero's radio played out like the others but this time there was no snap, but instead the voice came back on.

"Pathetic, don't ever show your weak self around me again." The voice said distantly as the unknown vanished. I managed to muster the courage to press the talk button on the keyboard to try contacting them.

"G-guys...?" I asked in a scared tone, tears flowing down my face. "C-Conor...N-N-Ninda...R-R-Ronald...I-If this is some kind of joke it's not funny!" I shouted in desperation. "Z-Z-Ze...Zero..." I pleaded as my heart slowly but surely shattered. The pieces flying apart like a shrapnel grenade in my heart. My tears turned into whimpers. "S-Someone pick up the radio damnit!...p-p-please... s-s-someone...a-a-a-anyone..."


	6. Unwelcome Sight

**Chapter 6**

**-Metropolis Industrial District, Zero POV**

The escape train I was on was grinding to a hault, the brakes squealing to slow the thing down from the ludicrous speed it had been travelling. The act however threw me forward in my chair, but the restraints on the seat prevented me from flying away. Once the near death trap finally stopped, the door opened automatically. "You'd better not fail this time." Eggman's recording said as I unbuckled myself. I grunted in annoyance, but didn't do much more aside from climb out and stare at the long dark tunnel from where I came. 'At least it was only about half a day.' I mused as I turned to the only door on the wall.

The door was a red metal with handles and a faded symbol of Eggman's logo on it. The surface was mostly red from rust but the orriginal yellow paint still held it's color in some places. 'Damn how long has the power plant base been inactive? 4 years?' Shrugging as I stretched out my back to let it pop into place, I turned the handle and pulled, the door creaking madly as I opened it to darkness. The room gave off a series of smells from crude oil to rubber for tires.

At first I debated walking in, but seeing how the tunnel had no other access points, this was my only option. I patted the wall with my right hand, it making a clunking noise on the metal wall, to find a way of turing on the lights, but no switch was present. The left side revealed a switch, but when I flipped it, nothing happened. 'Great...just great...' My unamused monologue went in my head, 'No way to see.' Annoyingly, the gemstone in my chest lit up, causing a flashlight to appear from thin air. 'You aren't helping either.'

Accepting the option was there however, I flipped the light on and the room was semi-illuminated, revealing both new and old generation bots as if this was a storage hall. Everything from the buzz-rollers of old to the new modle ostritch bots where here in parts and pieces, ready to be assembled and used by someone who knew what they were doing. 'I bet if this wasn't Eggman's, Gadget would've loved this place.'

I shook my head some as I went to look for another door incase the fat bastard had a remote way to power up the machines to capture me...not like I'd let them. I used my nose to track a cleaner smelling door to avoid going deeper into the foundary, which payed off as I found a less corroded door of the same design as the last. Pushing the door open, I was met with a conveyer room with metal sheets and wiring on the long seized belts awaiting refinement for purposes unknown.

Some belts led to floors above, while ofhers led even farther down, making this floor just a transfer point for materials to enter machines and probably cargo trains like the ones in Rail Canyon. I decided to head up a belt, which had raw ingots on it, to the entry path it came in from, a set of plastic flaps at the top. I shined my light at the flaps, thankful I wouldn't be walking into a machine, and began my ascent. The flaps felt cold to the touch, like a plastic cup you stick in a fridge, and made me sicer some as I crossed the threshhold into a room that looked like a loading depot.

A few small cranes made up what lifted the metals while some cargo boxes rested in hover trucks, long since plumeted to the ground. I debated on stealing one, but the suspensions on them where smashed as well as the generators procuding lift. beyond the trucks were closed doors looking like an outdated version of the fortress' doors I encountered during my escape two days ago.

I walked past a destroyed truck and held out my arm to the door, the flashlight fading away as a swarm of cubes appeared and flew in quick succession at the door, smashing it apart to reveal the night sky outside. I smirked and walked out the door, the gem's glow calmning again to nothing while I stepped out of the factory disguised as a power generator for the city.

In the distance above and in front, stood a freeway of hover vehicles and bikes, while the traditional road ways were sparse of activity, 'The perfect place to lay low as I make my way to the base.' I thought with a smirk as I continued on. However, I quickly realized something, even with me on a less traveled path, the ruby was still in my chest. Again the ruby tried to come to my aid and released a pulse of energy around me in a 100ft radius. I cocked my head at it but shrugged it off as best I could, avoiding a few homeless Mobians watched me when I passed by.

The material in my boot soles clacked against the pavement quietly, like a jogger making a daily run, as I progressed. The part of town the road was in was familiar to me, the main industrial district of Metropolis where the businesses and factories were home to. The ressidents from I seen are always quiet and reserved most times so at least if I was spotted it would've been harder to get word out. Interestingly enough, as I walked through the city, nobody paid me any mind, like I didn't even exist. It didn't make listening to their chatter easier though. The rubble of roads and bridges made it hard though to want to advance.

"Can you believe it? Not even an arrest on Eggman, let alone the monster, what is G.U.N. doing?" A male squirrel mumbled under his breath as I passed by invisible to his eyes apparently. 'Just what the hell can this ruby do?' I asked internally as to not ruin the illusion. I hopped over a stack of metal and turned right at Alison St.

"I'm glad to have my house back, so nice when Eggman isn't here destroying everything." A teenage bear said to her friend, a female racoon.

"Especially with that masked guy gone to. I heard he was a robot or something." The racoon asked causing anger to build in me as I walked passed, tripping her to make it look like she fell down on addicent while doing so. The act earned a smirk from me as I walked. The smirk quickly fell as people I walked amongst talked on and on about other areas almost leveled by either my clone or Eggman...or both, but I didn't let the insults get through that much.

"We have confirmed reports that Eggman's armies are finally shut down, G.U.N. and the Resistance have released a statement on the rebuilding process, saying it's their next big endeavor. President Atar has released a statement on the matter, more on that later, and sun shines on this great day. From I bet everyone in the world...thanks Sonic." A TV in a shop to my right said as I passed. My ears dropped as I passed by, back folding into a slump. 'You think I wanted to do this? To ruin everyone's lives while having that clone tarnish my name doing so?' I shook my head to avoid the words and focuss on moving forward.

The illusion field expanded to the size of 5 city blocks by the time I reached the heavier populated business district, and at that point I was a mere few blocks from the old base. That's whena G.U.N. APC drove on the road next to the sidewalk. The APC had two ATGM launchers as well as a 20mm cannon as a turret. The body was that of a Merkava III, but modified to have the armor angle at the sides. The APC was accompqnied by a few drones as escort and survalence while a small squad of soldiers split off from the vehicle to a park. I pressed against a shop wall as the APC passed me, it's drones in a normal search patern until one turned right at me. 'Oh shit, oh shit!' Me and the drone had a long agonizing staring contest until it flew off, seemingly not noticing me.

My heart began calming after that close call as I watched the vehicles continue in the opposite way I was going. 'I need to get back to base, just to stay low for now.' Reaching another intersection, I turned left and crossed the road, before dashing to an old store front long shut down. The store used to sell knick-knacks and other treats for people in its time, but a few years ago it found a new purpose.

The door was unlocked thanfully, but I quickly locked it behind me before going into the back room. To anyone not really looking, the room would be a simple storage closet where some old action figures of super heroes and snowglobes made their homes. Rolling my eyes at the sight, I passed these toys and pressed down on the wall in a sequence.

After the last buton was hit, a retnal scanner appeared and scanned my 'sarred' eye. "Scan complete, I would say something cheesy, but then I'd be on the couch again. Welcome back Zero." A shy, but happily toned voice rang from the wall before it opened inward to a room illuminated soley by a blue light of a waiting computer in the bunker. I smiled saddly at the sequence of the door opening and hit the light switch to see a solid layer of dust on everything. The stairwell and hall walls were so dusty the paint on them was lighter than the normal red and white. I made my decent, the ruby cutting off as I did so, and the door shut with a slow clinking noise behind me. 'Must've been a new feature.'

When I reached the bottom, the room instantly lit up automatically, revealing the same dusty mess as with the stairs, but I also saw things were different. The main room was rearanged to have the couch and TV in the middle, while a disasembled vehicle layed in their old spot on the corner near the monitor of the base's computer. A door was in front of the new vehicle as well, still as brand new as the day it was installed. The kitchen and subsequent table were now far away from the computer and on the opposite corner. Training equipment like Ninda's weights to my practice dummies were strewn about, lying on the floor, in a burnt pile, or just dusty from no use. The furniture itself was covered in a thick tarp to protect it from the dust, but the blue sticking out in green painted brick room. Luckily the squads' rooms were still in order and I went to open each one.

Each room had tarps over the furniture, making each room look like one from an abandoned mansion, but only my light and Gadget's light worked. 'Must've forgotten to change the bulbs.' I mused as I walked to the main PC. The desk was mostly the same, only it was a holo computer like Eggman's, but it had a vibe about it that told me it was completely different. "Please enter password before proceeding." A more strained version of the same voice from before said. Typing in my password that allowed me access to all information, 'Thank you Gadget', I found the screen devoid of most icons but the internet, files, and a program called 'STATS.'

I also noticed something unsettling after I saw the screen out of the corner of my eye. It was a reflective white, and as I turned to look, I felt a knot form in my stomach. On the wall were marks, akin to those of a prisoner marking time for their sentence, on the wall. It wasn't so much what they were that made me uneasy, but the at least 79-90 marks that were there with the heading 'Days Alone' above them. 'Chaos, what happened to you Gadg?' I monologued in my mind. 'Maybe the files can tell me some answers.'

With that, I opened up the file folder to find pictures, logs, op details, projects, and journal headings. I decided to start first with journal and go from there to see both a journal from Ninda and one of Conor on the avalibility. 'It's never that easy.' I thought as I went into the projects folder. Inside were schematics to Gadget's wrist launcher, a motorbike all of us owned as a receational vehicle, a blaster I'd never seen before, and an offroad buggy with 5 seats and a ton of high end tech labled 'SURPRISE.' I looked at the vehicle disasembled in the corner of the room with a disheartened glance. 'Was this going to be for us?' Glancing back at the computer, I decided to open pictures file to relish memories on the team, labels of 'FIRST MISSION,' 'FAN FAVORITE,' 'PLEASE DON'T,' and 'THE BEST TIMES' in the folder. My hand went into the 'PLEASE DON'T' folder first out of curiosity, but when I opened it, I understood why Gadg always would yell at Conor.

Inside were very...controversial...images of me taken while I slept. Most were with the blanket off and exposed to the elements. My face went red at that as I scrolled through to find even worse picks of me exposed in other areas to such as the couch late at night, the table from bellow, and most disturbingly in the shower. 'Chaos, Conor you tortured the poor guy.' I thought as I quickly closed the folder, my face redder than a tomato.

I went through the other pictures of the squad together, but nothing else stood out, leaving 'STATS' and logs left. Searching logs was like reading off a mission report that was from an agent or something from a feild assignment; short, sweet, and to the letter, but not what I wanted. I sighed as I went into the last folder to see quite a few things. Another journal folder and some pictures of events after the 'incident,' were what were contained within the folder. Most of the pictures there seemed to be from a camera about eye level with a person and were aleays burry, like accidental photos, but two stood out that haunt me and seemed to be big mistakes or very purposeful. The first one was of the camera on a counter and a red figure in the distance with a very...very twisted smile and a cocked head. The hair was frayed and furtinture, pictures, clothes, and other belongings were strewn about the frame as cold, somewhat sadistic eyes stared at the camera. The second was a simple one, a bloddy knife and legs connected to a set of boots I've never seen before. It was so simple that I normal wouldn't care but the time spent alone factored in to Gadg's dependent nature on the rest of us at times and shyness to others made this image the worse of the two.

A shudder ran down my spine as I went into the journal to see 85 entries of the dates post my vanishing in the jungle. It was to many to watch in order so I decided to start with day 26. The video player built into the OS opened and began the video of the familiar wolf I knew, but his hair was frayed and eyes seemed dead inside. I also noticed his right hand was baren as well as a bottle of scotch on the table, nearly empty. 'Oh don't tell me you found his stash!' I almost yelled before realizing it was a recordning. I hit play and waited for the video to start.

"Well..." Gadget began before burping, "I'm glad I found Roland's secret stash, damn that soda is amazing." He chuckled some, clearly drunk. "Well it's been 26 days...I think after the who Mystic Jungle incident. As usual no one responds to my calls...cheers guys." He took another swig and rather violently hit the bottle on the desk. "Thanks for being fucking assholes..." His face went serious which was anrare sight for him and usually a scary one for anyone not used to it. "I help build and construct a base only to be forced here! I mean c'mon I knew I was an outcast before, but now that..." He looked away and shook his index finger at the screen laughing. "That was to far, but what would I do? I'm just the 'shy wolf' no one cares about me aside from my work I provide, huh?"

"No, no Gadget you're wrong." I mumbled as I watched the video. "You were as much a member as anyone else." I took a breath in but noticed it was a sniffle.

"Well fuck you too cause guess who is still fucking alive while you mother fuckers died boringly. A snap, really? Next thing you'll be coming in that door telling me it's all a practical joke!" He yelled, tears beginning to form. "Y-You have no clue how much pain I'm in! No clue what being away from supposed family is like! How can you go out there and break a promise? A promise to someone who provides so god damn much!" His tears increased as my mouth was creased down as I fought back my own tears. "Shows how much I actually meant doesn't it?" He asked before sighing, "End journal." With that spoken the video ended, and I sat there in silence as a disheartedned and broken Gadget sat sideways glancing the camera. I sniffled more and let a tear fall as my own heart recovered from that...not that it ever would. 'J-Just what have I done to him?'


End file.
